"Parish at the crossroads" tells the story of how one Boston-area chuch has coped with the priest sexual abuse scandal.
What effect has the crisis had on your parish? Has it drawn the congregation closer together? Driven them apart? How have your priest and parish leaders responded to the crisis, and are you satisfied with their efforts?

I am having an extremely hard time with this.
I have not been to mass for 5 or 6 weeks. Of course I still
believe in God and really miss going to mass.
I am having such a difficult time accepting this. It is so bad and it has been going on for so long. How can we believe
or trust in anything that the church preaches/teaches after this. I have to come to gripes with it but my logical self is having so difficult of a time.
Why did it happen? What is going on with these priests? Does it have anything to do with being unmarried? Why so many something else is happening here that needs to be researched, talked about and opened up.
Yes, as a child I heard stories but I believed they were so isolated and not with hundreds and hundreds coming out with their stories.
Part of the solution, I believe must be in the schools and with the parents, parents must teach openly to their children of all ages, that there is inappropriate behavior and touching, no matter who, Father, Uncle, Priest. If the children are taught this early and if they are given a sense of security and feel that they can go to their parent, then perhaps they could stop it in the beginning.
One thing is for certain, it will never go away and it will not be in the open as it always should have been.
I miss going to mass and the feeling of being in church.

Beverly Outram, Arlington

I couldn't agree more with Dave from Charlestown. Many people seem only too eager to tear down the "Church" but they don't realize that they are also part of it. What happens when politicians or others in power become corrupt? Do people say "I'm no longer going to follow the laws of Massachussetts because the Governor is corrupt"? Certainly not. Hopefully anyone seeing a problem would help weed it out in order to make it better. "I'm not going to Mass until they fix the problem". That is so weak. Why not stick around and actually try to help correct things rather than sitting there complaining about it. My guess is these are the same people that think the church owes them something because the put a dollar in the collection. Please, keep your dollar. As Catholics we believe that this is the Church established by Christ. He gave Peter the keys and that has been passed on from one pope to the next. How can you walk away from the Church that was established by the One you believe in?

Mike, Medford

My pain and disappointment is all too real, but I will not lose hope. That hope is in a God who remains faithful to His promise no matter how we screw up. Now is not the time to run from the Church but to run to it with open arms. Jesus is here, weeping and in pain certainly, but here none the less. The truths of divine revelation that the Church hands on are rock solid, the earthly vessels that contain them are not. Sexual abuse and the tendency for cover-up are in no way limited to or even characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church. I wish it was, but the truth is that parents, relatives, teachers, coaches and neighbors are far more likely to abuse a child then the parish priest.
For the Church this is a time of change and purification, that has been happening and will continue - wouldn't it be sadly ironic if people who have been faithful while the abuse was going on were to leave now that the environment has changed?

Chris, Boston

1)uses code of silence to keep people in check.
2) uses fear of loss of salvation to do same - people are afraid to ask questions .
3) has change simple gospel message from a free gift waving all sin past present and future to something that they have control over and therefore can manipulate people.
4) is dependent on silencing people to remain effective for future,
5) denies what jesus did on cross as being enough for salvation by adding conditions therefore nullify the efficacy of christs atonement. see purgatory
since people were dying not knowing god they came up with this one.
6) lacks recruits because it has change gospel to a bunch of gobblygook from a simple message, and teachings of true church peter was married as were others etc.

bob, boston

I hope some Catholic organization is documenting all this anti-Catholic behavior and bigotry in the media (mostly the Globe) on the Internet and in public. It could come back to haunt some of these people for their hatred.